Astrology
Astrology's central tenet is the power of prediction. Ignoring that for the moment, when another editor who believes in it arrives to do it justice, there is much to be learned that requires no belief in the empirical findings and historical record of Astrology. I will do my best to walk the line between those who believe in the central tenet, and those who believe only in science, with respect to both. The Wikipedia article debunks astrology's central tenet, the power of prediction. However, it ignores altogether the astrological signs. They are a study of the differentiation of human personality traits that even in their most basic form, the twelve, far surpasses the Type A and Type B personality hypothesis. Studies in Type A type B personality were themselves discredited as being promoted by the tobacco industry to undermine the scientific evidence on smoking and health. No replacements have been forthcoming, leaving Astrological signs as the only research done into personality types, albeit using empirical evidence. The signs are also related to the behaviour of the agricultural society in which they were created. Vigorous Aries is the time of year for new endeavours-planting mostly, Taurus the stolid perseveres in hard work, Gemini the communicator is talkative after the planting, when there is time to rest from the work of planting, Virgo is harvest time, etc. Astrological signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces Empirical evidence and historical record The signs as belief tells are first, a fusion between the very very ancient cardinal elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, and the later constructs of the Cardinal, Mutable, and Fixed qualities. As psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (WP) showed, these, and the alchemical elemental substances that followed them, were not only the first forays into Chemistry by humankind, but also the first forays into Psychology. The signs, because of the length of time in which they were amassed, are an empirical study of the differentiation of human personality traits that even in their most basic form, the twelve, far surpasses the Type A and Type B of psychology. Studies in Type A type B personality were themselves discredited as being promoted by the tobacco industry to undermine the scientific evidence on smoking and health. No replacements have been forthcoming, leaving Astrological signs as the only research by humankind into personality types, albeit using empirical evidence. The signs as recorded historically area great insight into human nature. This consensus of bygone ages has, as might be expected during the rightful ascent of science, been entrusted to a small minority of practitioners who believe in the central tenet. They take personality traits from their own experience. This is a good and fruitful way for those who believe to amass their knowledge. However, it is quite distinct in type from the wisdom that is represented by Renaissance, Medieval or earlier texts, which represent the accumulation of hundreds of years of knowledge that is not inextricably tied to belief. The signs are also related to the behaviour of the agricultural society in which they were created. It is an almanac of sorts for the activities of a somewhat "advanced" agricultural society that had resources enough for scientific study and philosophical and spiritual research. * Aries, vigorous and eager, is the time of year for new endeavours; planting mostly * Taurus the stolid, perseveres in hard work with a keen eye to the world around * Gemini the communicator is talkative after the planting, when there is time to rest from the work of planting * Cancer, gregarious like Gemini, has closer ties due to previous bonding, and commercial alliances like trades may also form * Leo takes the knowledge of humanity learned from the previous months (and years) and displays them for others. Imitation and acting is one of humanities' earliest and thus most developed talents, as even monkeys do it, and Leo is the sign of actors * Virgo is the time of the harvest. If you do not enjoy the harvest, it is said, you do not enjoy farming. Abundance is to be expected, but also important is discretion: laying hay into ricks so that the rains do not allow mold; gleaning the last of the grain fallen on the ground, separating the harvest's fruits and deciding how they might best be used * Libra is a time of utter harmony. Harvest's bounty has all been gathered, and there is the beauty of Autumn to fully enjoy. Beauty and romance; the dream is realized * Scorpio is the time after male animals have mated and can be killed without endangering the population. is replete with the vision of harmony, and thus fully aware not only of its consummation, but also of what corrupts it and what is blocking its ascension. Scorpio knows what needs to be done. A most important time of the year for Celtic mythology, Christian's All Hallow's Eve coopted their Samhain and the Indian ceremonies in Central and South America into Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. * Sagittarius rests and recreates after the torrid time of the hunt. Travel, philosophy, and general jolliness in this season, replete with the preserves of fruits and meats stored for the winter (mincemeat pies, cured hams) * Capricorn also is well fed, but sobered by the winter, has an eye on the rest of it and the seasons and years to come. This is planning and craft and science and the building of better systems. Why is that and what can we do about it? * Aquarius takes the plans, the craft the science and the systems, and plays with them. It is a time of invention and diversion. Eccentric behaviour creeps in from going stir crazy with cabin fever * Pisces is mysticism. The madness is at its height and so, the receptiveness to the worlds that lie beyond in the inner mind and the universal mind. It is the end of all things and the time just before the new beginning. We do not really know what Pisces fully is, because a new beginning is always there to aspire to The Planets The planetary system is much less useful to modern science than the signs, but there are still a few useful mnemonics to be gleaned regarding the weight of the metals associated with them and speed of the planetary motion as viewed from the Earth. Astrology is a geocentric system, with heavenly bodies visible from Earth: the six planets known to the ancients, plus the solar system's one star, for a total of seven. Consequently, the sign that represents the most characteristic element of personhood is not the Earth, since that can not be seen in the sky, but the Sun. Due to the fact that Venus and Mercury are inner planets, their visible orbit always follows the sun, and thus they could be said to be the same speed. However, as they flit about, they appear to move faster than the Earth. In this way, the astrologers accurately recorded the relative speed of the planets' speeds, if one forgives the fact that they did not think of them as orbiting in the same way as Astronomy does now. All of the days of the week are taken directly from the Roman names for the gods or their planets, except the ones that were popularized in Europe by the Norse, Roman gods whose attributes closely enough resembled their own. * Tue * Mercury is the messenger of the Roman gods (Greek Hermes). Norse Wodin or Odin brought the Runes of power to gods and humans from the World Tree Yggdrasil; he learned the runes by hanging from the World Tree for nine days. This is the origin of the Hanged Man tarot card, representing knowledge learned through the pain of experience; the Hanged Man, wise but grim, is the polar opposite of the happy-go-lucky Fool, who prevails not only by luck and blissful ignorance (dancing oblivious on the edge of the cliff in the Waite-Rider tarot deck), but also by Innocence. This is sort of like Adam and Eve before the Knowledge. Obviously the Garden of Eden tale takes more than a dim view of Odin's grim prize, but you have to admit Adam and Eve had it good. Odin's name replaced Mercury in the Germanic languages that came into English, and the third day of the week became Wednesday. The Latin root is still that of the Roman gods, seen in Romance languages where Wednesday is Mercredi-French, Miércoles-Spanish, Mercoledì-Italian. * Jupiter or Jove (by Jove!) is the Roman version of Zeus, the patriarch who threw bolts of lightning at his enemies. The patriarch part would have been a better fit for Odin, Thor's father, but Odin's role as the messenger between the infinite and mankind was more important to them, and of course the lightning part is a good fit for Thor, god of thunder, and so they made Jupiter Thor just as they later made Thor's hammer symbol into Jesus' cross, literally chiseling its presence on holy stones into the new shape. When the Germanic and Celtic peoples took up the system of the weekdays, they made the fourth day of the week Thor's day, or Thursday. The Roman form can still be seen, as Jove, in the Jueves-Spanish, Giovedi-Italian, and Jeudi-French. * Venus (Greek Aphrodite) is the Venerdì-Italian, Vendredi-French, Viernes-Spanish Speed of rotation As astronomy would lead one to expect, but with the Moon and Sun thrown in. The Sun's speed, in an Earth-centric system, closely approximates the speed of the Earth around the Sun. Skip one day/element/deity, eg from Monday to Wednesday * The Moon or Luna is the fastest planet, about twelve times as fast as the Sun; it is faster even than Mercury. Its metal, Silver, is the fourth heaviest or lightest, the median. * Mercury is the etymological source of mercurial, representing mercury's fast movement back and forth near the sun. Mercury was the messenger of the gods, as it was by far the fastest of the far-off planets. It was the third day of the week before Norse Wodin's (Odin) name was added to make Wednesday * Venus - Freya, Friday * The Sun is the median, the fourth fastest planet, almost twice as fast as Mars. It is slower than Venus and Mercury. From the Sun's name is derived the day of the week Sunday. Its metal, gold, shines as brightly and yellow as the sun. It is almost the heaviest metal of the ten, surpassing Iron, and almost as heavy as Lead. * Mars - Outside of Earth's orbit, its rotation is half as fast as Earth's and thus appears to move half as fast as the Sun. Tue for Tir, the god of Law Trust and standing guard. Tuesday * Jupiter, the lord of the Roman gods, associated with Thor, not only son of Odin but the prime mover of the Norse gods' plans and like Zeus, a god wielding Thunder and Lightning. Thor's day, or Thursday * Saturn - hidden far away, slow moving as the Earth beneath us, and slightly sinister: the Greek ancestor god Cronus. The Romans' Saturn was a much merrier fellow, but the satyr of Saturnalia was nonetheless a trickster and offered varying fortunes to his devotees. Saturday, obviously Standard atomic weight Metals are associated with the planets and therefore days of the week. There is another ordered arrangement in the metal's weights' relationship with the days, as there is with the rotational speeds of the planets. Skip two days/elements/deities, eg Tuesday to Friday. At this point, it begins to become a little mindboggling to scientists. How can the arrangement of planets' speed AND the weights of associated metals fit into an existing system of deities AND days of the week? Well, for one, the associations with days of the week are purely arbitrary. The week came from the other arrangements. And it is possible that the systems were not developed independently; they evolved together. And there is the, afaik, unresolved attribution of Tin to Jupiter. Still... At the very least, it represents the solving of an intricate puzzle indeed. * Iron - warfare and Mars - Martes in Spanish, Tuesday. Standard atomic weight. Ar 55.845 * Copper - malleable, Venus - Freya, Friday. Ar 63.546 * Silver - bright white like the Moon, Monday. Ar 107.8682 * Tin - For unknown reasons, associated with Jupiter - Thor, Thursday. Skip to Monday. Ar 118.710 * Gold - shining gold like the Sun - Sunday. Ar 196.966 * Mercury - Miercoles in Spanish, Wednesday. Norse Odin was akin to Rome's Mercury in that he brought the words of power, the Runes, to the Norse, therefore Wodin's Day, Wednesday. Ar 200.592 * Lead - dull and heavy, slow moving -Saturn and Saturday. Ar 207.2 Finally, Nostradamus gets the "Prediction" category on Wikipedia, but not Astrology? They both make predictions. Nostradamus was an astrologer; if anything, what set him apart was how extreme and vague his claims were. Category:Pseudoscience Category:Occult Category:Esotericism Category:Astrology Category:Prediction Category:Personality typologies Category:Personality theories Category:Personality Category:Psychological theories